The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Consumer Financial Agency Takes Aim at Specialty Credit Reporting Companies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is cracking down on specialty credit reporting agencies, warning companies that they must make it easy for people to get free copies of their credit reports annually.

The agency's latest enforcement effort is directed not at the so-called "big three" agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – but rather at the 400 or so little-known companies that track information related to consumers' check-writing, medical payments, tenancy, employment or insurance claims.

In a press call with reporters, CFPB enforcement head Kent Markus described what amounted to an undercover sting by agency investigators, who called up the specialty agencies and asked for free copies of their credit reports. "For some [companies], this was a puzzling question," Markus said.

Judge Finds D.C. Law Regulating Sign-Posting Unconstitutional

A Washington federal judge today struck down a District of Columbia law regulating how long signs can stay posted on lampposts, finding that it violated the First Amendment.

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition, or ANSWER, which describes itself as a grassroots civil rights organization, has challenged the regulations in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2007. Today, U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth found (PDF) that despite repeated efforts by city officials to revise the statute, it still failed to meet the test of constitutionality.

Lamberth found that the law failed on two main fronts. First, the city had failed to justify a distinction drawn between how signs for events are treated versus non-event signs. Second, the city gave law enforcement officers too much discretion to decide whether a sign was event-related or not.

Fluet Huber + Hoang Adds National Security Practice

Updated 9:50 a.m. 11/30/2012

Northern Virginia-based Fluet Huber + Hoang has launched a national security law practice.

Name partners Francis Hoang and Joseph Fluet III said that the practice arose from both client pressures and the internal desire to consolidate work that the firm already does. The practice will focus on the nexus between national security business and the government and include topics like security clearance, litigation, public relations and government compliance.

"When we do national security type work, there is always a legal issue," Fluet said. "By virtue of who we are, we tend to attract government contractors in the defense and intelligence space."

The firm, founded in 2009, has 16 attorneys throughout two Virginia offices and a Maryland office. It is headquartered in Lake Ridge, Virginia. Eight of the attorneys will be part of the new group. The practice pools together attorneys with backgrounds in the White House, the Department of Defense, CIA and the Department of Labor.

BAE Systems Wins Dispute with D.C. Tax Office Over Location

Companies with a home base in Washington's suburbs take note: The District of Columbia Court of Appeals today sided with Virginia-based BAE Systems in a dispute with the city's Office of Tax and Revenue over what it means to "maintain" an office in the District.

BAE claimed exemptions from the city's corporate franchise tax in 2001 and 2002, according to the opinion (PDF). The company said that while its headquarters were in Virginia, enough of its employees provided high-technology services in Washington – working essentially full-time in federal agency offices as contractors – to qualify for an exemption aimed at developing the city's high-tech sector.

The Office of Tax and Revenue took the position that BAE didn't qualify for the exemption and owed an additional $534,764. The Office of Administrative Hearing found in BAE's favor and the city appealed, arguing that to "maintain" an office under the law providing for the exemption, BAE would have to exercise "predominant dominion, control, or autonomy" over that office. Judge Roy McLeese III, writing for the three-judge panel, said the city's proposed definition was "unconvincing" and too restrictive.

Senate Committee Moves Forward with Internet Privacy Bill

The Senate Judiciary Committee moved forward Thursday to update a privacy law that would require law enforcement and regulatory agencies to obtain search warrants before getting content of emails and other electronic communications.

But the committee's chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Ranking Member Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) both conceded that the legislation updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act is unlikely to be passed in the full Senate during the current lame duck session.

At the hearing, Grassley cited several concerns with the bill in its current form, including the concerns from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would hinder investigations, and wanted to make exceptions for emergencies like kidnapping or rape.

Friday is the Day for Clothing Drive for the Homeless

D.C.-area lawyers, law firm staff and their families will be clearing out their clothes closets tonight. Gifts for the Homeless, the lawyer-led nonprofit that uses all donated money to help the homeless, is holding its annual clothing drive November 30 through December 2.

Last year, more than 4,000 bags of gently used clothing and other items including sheets, towels and toiletries were collected and delivered to 63 area shelters with the help of 400 volunteers from law firms and related sponsoring organizations — including Legal Times.

At Hogan Lovells, 11 floor captains and dozens more volunteers are gathering and sorting clothing and donations, said partner Stephen Propst. "It's a real firmwide effort, involving everyone from partners to associates and staff." Gifts for the Homeless president Bart Epstein, general counsel of tutor.com, said, "Local shelters tell us that their needs are greater than ever. We hope that the D.C. legal community will step up." 

Goodlatte to Tackle Range of Issues at House Judiciary Committee

Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) has been elected to serve as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when the 113th Congress convenes in January, putting him in the center of issues like antitrust, immigration reform and Department of Justice oversight.

The Republican Conference voted Wednesday to confirm Goodlatte, a move that had long been expected. The previous chairman, Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas), had to step down because of Republican term limits on committee chairmanships.

"The Judiciary Committee, which has far-reaching legislative jurisdiction, is one of the most active committees in Congress," Goodlatte said in a written statement. "Under my leadership, the House Judiciary Committee will play an active role in advancing a pro-growth agenda that will help to create jobs and restore economic prosperity to America."

The Morning Wrap

Jackpot: A pair of tickets matched the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot last night, the second largest lottery prize in the U.S. The winning tickets were sold in Missouri and Arizona, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Embargo: BP has been temporarily banned from obtaining future government contracts by federal regulators who cited the company's "lack of business integrity" related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Our own Jenna Greene reports.

LivingSocial: As many as 400 employees of the coupon website LivingSocial could be laid off by the company. The Washington Business Journal reports that the cuts, which are likely to take place across the country, could effect employees in D.C. In July the company won a $32.5 million tax break from the D.C. Council on the promise that the company expand its D.C. footprint.

Fiscal Rift: As the deadline for the fiscal cliff nears, Democrats and Republicans are still split on how to reach a deal. President Obama yesterday utilized campaign-style tactics in an effort to push Republicans to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, NPR reports.

Senator Backs Away from 'No' Vote Policy on Obama Judicial Nominees

A Republican senator is ready to remove one of the roadblocks that dogged this year's federal judicial nomination process.

One of the most vocal opponents of judicial opponents this year, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), won't restart his categorical "No" vote policy on all judicial nominees that started in January, when President Barack Obama made four controversial recess appointments, Lee spokesman Brian Phillips said this week.

Lee's stand against the recess appointments, which he says were unprecedented and happened when the Senate was in session, even led to an awkward vote where Lee sided against a nomination he supported: Robert Shelby, a noncontroversial nominee for district judge in Lee’s home state of Utah.

Defense Lawyer Asks Judge to Suppress Cell Tower Data in Drug Case

A Washington defense lawyer is urging a trial judge here to prevent federal prosecutors from using cell phone location data in a high-profile drug trafficking conspiracy case.

The lawyer, Jeffrey O'Toole, who represents a man named Antoine Jones, said in court papers filed this week that the government violated his client's constitutional rights protected under the Fourth Amendment.

The government, O'Toole said in a motion to suppress the cell data, should have been required to show probable cause to obtain tower data from a service provider.

The prosecution of Jones, a nightclub owner charged with participating in a drug ring in Washington, is back in the trial court from the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court in January upheld the dismissal of Jones' conviction and life sentence, finding the authorities violated his Fourth Amendment rights through the clandestine, warrantless use of a GPS tracking device.